Put your trust in Christ and allow him to work in your life

In his book, “In the Eye of the Storm,” Max Lucado tells the following story: On Feb. 15, 1921, in New York City, an operation was taking place in the operating room of the Kane Summit Hospital. A doctor was performing an appendectomy. In many ways, the events leading to the surgery were uneventful. The patient had complained of severe abdominal pain. The diagnosis was clear: an inflamed appendix. Dr. Evan O’Neill Kane was performing the surgery. In his distinguished 37-year medical career, he had performed nearly 4,000 appendectomies, so this surgery would be uneventful in all ways except two.

The first novelty of this operation? The use of local anesthesia in major surgery. Dr. Kane was a crusader against the hazards of general anesthesia. He contended that a local application is far safer. Many of his colleagues agreed with him in principle, but in order for them to agree in practice, they would have to see the theory applied.

Dr. Kane searched for a volunteer — a patient who was willing to undergo surgery while under local anesthesia. A volunteer would not easily be found. Many people would be squeamish at the thought of being awake during their own surgery. Others would be fearful that the anesthesia might wear off too soon. Eventually, however, Dr. Kane found a candidate. So on Tuesday morning, Feb. 15, the historic operation occurred.

The patient was then prepped and wheeled into the operating room. A local anesthetic was applied. As he had done thousands of times, Dr. Kane dissected the superficial tissues and located the appendix. He skillfully took out the appendix and concluded the surgery. During the procedure, the patient complained of only minor discomfort. The volunteer was then taken into post-op, and placed in a hospital ward. He recovered quickly and was dismissed two days later. Dr. Kane had proven his theory. Thanks to the willingness of a brave volunteer, Kane demonstrated that local anesthesia was a viable, and even preferable, alternative.

But I said there were two facts that made the surgery unique. I’ve told you the first: the use of local anesthesia. The second is the patient. You see, the courageous candidate for surgery by Dr. Kane was Dr. Kane, himself.

To prove his point, Dr. Kane operated on himself. A wise move! The doctor became a patient to convince his patients to trust the doctor.

We put our trust in a lot of things. We trust our spouses, our children, our teachers, our pastors and our friends, just to name a few. But the one person we ought to be trusting with every detail of our lives is Jesus Christ. My friends, Jesus loves you. He cares for you. He wants the very best for your life. And He wants you to know Him as your personal Lord and Savior.

Page 2 of 2 - 1 Peter 5:6 and 7 tells us, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you (NKJV).” No one — and I repeat, no one — will ever love and care for you more than Jesus, Himself. If Jesus did not love you, He would not have died on the cross and risen from the grave for you. So doesn’t it make sense that if someone loves you that much, you can trust Him with all the details in your life?

Today, will you put your trust in Christ? Will you allow Him to work in your life? Let Jesus give you the directions you need to live a life that is victorious in Him.